Feeding means for tube-mills and like grinding apparatus.



J. E. 'THOMA.

FEEDING MEANS FOR TUBE MILLS AND LIKE GRINDING APPARATUS.

' APPLICATION FILED AUG, 2, 1910.

1,045,342, Patented Nov. 26, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Chm:-

COLUMBIA PLANOCIRAPH CO.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

. 'J. E. THOMAS. FEEDING MEANS FOR TUBE MILLS AND LIKE GRINDINGAPPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG 2, 1910,

Patented Nov. 26, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CD-.W ASHINGTON D c JAMES EDWARD THOMAS, 0FGERMISTON, TRANSVAAL.

FEEDING MEANS FOR TUBE-MILLS AND LIKE GRINDING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 26, 1912.

Application filed August 2, 1910. Serial N 0. 575,196.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES EDWARD THOMAS, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, and resident of Germiston, Transvaal, have invented certain newand useful Improvements Relating to Feeding Means for Tube-Mills andLike Grinding Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to feeding means or devices for introducingpebbles, pieces of rock or other grinding material into tube mills,Huntingdon mills and similar grinding apparatus or machines. Forthe'purpose of introducing such material it is usual to provide at oneend of the mill a'spiral intake or curved inlet through which saidmaterial passes into the mill.

The object of my invention is to provide improved mechanical means forautomatioally feeding the mill, and obtain a more.

for holding the pebbles, rock or other material which is to beintroduced into the mill.

Arranged in a suitable position relative to the aforesaid chute is acorrugated or fluted roller on to the top of which the material isdelivered by the chute. A portion of the bottom plate of the chute ishinged so that it can move upward should any of the material jam betweenthe roller and the lower edge of the chute. Straps fixed to the back ofthe chute serve for keeping the hinged portion of the plate in itsproper position relative to the roller. The roller is provided. withprojecting pins which operate to prevent the material jamming in thechute. The hinged plate at the bottom of the chute is provided withslots which permit of the passage through them of the proj ecting pins.1 i

The fluted feeding roller is fixed upon a shaft, and the latter has anintermittent motion imparted to it which is derived from the tube mill.The driving means for the shaft comprise a friction wheel on the shaftand a pawl which is operated by means of a rope from a lever actuated bymeans of a cam or eccentric on the casing of the spiral intake. Meansare provided for regulating the .movement of the operating lever toregulate the extent of the movement of the roller and the quantity ofthe material fed by it into the mill. The fluted roller delivers thematerial into another hopper from which it passes down a chute into thespiral intake of the mill. The lower portion of this latter chute ishinged so as to obviate jamming or choking of the chute by the materialand to permit it to lift if necessary.

Means are provided for adjustably retaining the hinged portion of thechute in position so as to insure that the pebbles shall fall into thespiral intake at the proper point during the revolution of the mill.

The invention will be more fully described by aid of the accompanyingdrawings, in which by way of example I illustrate it adapted to a tubemill.

Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of the feed end of a tube millwith the invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of Fig.1, and Fig. 3 is a plan of Fig. 2 with the top and bottom platforms, thetube mill, tube mill trunnion and trunnion bearing, removed.

1 in Figs. land 2 designates the end of the tube mill, 2 is the trunnionon the end thereof, and 3 the foundation and 4 the bearing for rotatablysupporting trunnion 2.

5 is the spiral intake which delivers the pebbles, rock or othermaterial into the outer end of the hollow trunnion 2 through which itpasses into the interior of the mill 1. The spiral intake 5 is shownfixed, by means of the flanged part 6, on the end of the trunnion 2 byset-screws 7 These several parts of the mill may be of any ordinaryconstruction and they do not embody any feature of my invention.

8 is the bottom and 9 the top platform. 10 are vertical posts arrangedbetween the plat-forms 8 and 9, which posts are utilized as hereinafterdescribed for supporting certain portions of the driving mechanism forthe feeding means.

11 is the top hopper or chute in which is placed the pebbles, rock orother material to be fed to the mill 1. The lower portion 12 of thebottom plate of the chute 1.1 is hinged as indicated at 13 and straps orflat pieces '14, which are riveted or otherwise fixed to the fixedportion of the chute above the hinged part 12 and extend downwardly,serve as stops upon which the hinged portion 12 rests when in itslowermost position.

15 is the hinge pin and 16 the eyes for the hinge pin, formed on the topof the p ate 12.

is attached by means of a shackle 30.

17 are bearings provided on the fixed portion of the bottom of the chutefor the hinge pin 13.

This construction permits the plate 12 to move upward should pieces ofthe material jam between the roller (hereinafter referred to) and thelower edge of said plate.

18 is a corrugated or fluted roller of wood or other suitable material.It extends as shown in Fig. '2 the full width of the lower end of thechute.

19 represent pins provided in the roller and projecting for a suitabledistance beyond the circumference thereof. These pins operate to loosenthe material should it jam in the bottom of the chute. Slots 20 areformed in the lower edge of the hinged plate 12 to permit the pins topass through upon rotation of the roller.

21 is the shaft on which the roller 18 is fixed. This shaft is free torotate in bearings 22 fixed to the vertical posts 10.

23 is a friction wheel or pulley fixed upon the shaft 21.

24 are two members which at one end loosely embrace the shaft. Betweenthe members 24 is pivoted a pawl or tumbler 25 which as shown in Fig. lis adapted to have frictional contact with the periphery of the frictionwheel 23.

26 is a rope attached to the outer end or tail of the pawl.

27, 28 are preferably swiveled pulleys fixed to the underside of the topplatform 9 over which the rope passes and 29 is the lever to which theother end of the rope 26 A series of holes 31 is provided for attachingthe rope 26 by means of the shackle 30 at different points for effectingany requisite a dj ustment.

32 is a bracket fixed to the bottom platform 8, in which bracket lever29 is fulcrumed, and 33 is a set-screw provided with a check-nut toserve as a means for adjusting the stroke of lever 29.

34 is a counterweight attached to the outer end of the lever 29.

35 is a cam or eccentric provided on the end of the casing of the spiralintake with which cam 01' eccentric the inner arm of the lever 29 iskept in contact by means of the counterweight 34. hen the mill is inoperation the cam or eccentric depresses the inner end of the lever andin so doing rotates the friction wheel through part of a revolutionthrough rope 26 and pawl or tumbler 25. This imparts a correspondingpartial rotation to the corrugated feed roller 18.

36 is the hopper into'which the material is delivered by the feed roller18 and 37 the chute which conducts the material from said latter hopperto the spiral intake 5. The cylindrical casing of the spiral intake isprovided with an opening or inlet 38 through which the material fallsinto the spiral intake from the chute 37. The cylindrical casing of thespiral intake is preferably protected by means of a wearing plate 39upon which the material in the bottom of the chute rests until it entersthe spiral intake through the inlet 38. The lower portion of the chute37 comprising the bottom and vertical sides, is hinged to the fixed bottom of the chute by means of a hinge pin 40.

41 are the eyes formed on the bottom of the hinged portion of the chutewhich work on the hinge pin 40 and 42 is the bearing formed on thebottom of the fixed portion of the chute.

43 is a piece riveted or otherwise suitably fixed at its upper end tothe bottom of the fixed portion of the chute. It is bent around thehinge and at its lower end carries a screw 44 and check-nut 45 whichserve as an adjustable stop for the hinged portion of the chute.

46 is the top or cover tion of the chute. This top or cover is alsohinged as indicated at 47 and it has affixed to it a weight 48. Byhinging the lower port-ion of the chute 37 and its cover 46 for thehinged por- 3 should any unduly large pieces of the material jam in' theinlet or mouth of the spiral intake the chute and cover can lift and soprevent the said parts sustaining damage from that cause.

What I claim as my invention and desire to protect by Letters Patentis 1. In feeding means for rotary grinding machines, in combination, areceiving chute, the lower portion of which is hinged, said hingedportion having a number of slots in its lower edge, a delivery chute inwhich the material is received from the receiving chute, and a rollerarranged at the bottom of the hinged portion of the receiving chutewhich operates to transfer the material from the receiving chute to thedelivery chute, said roller having pins projecting beyond its peripherywhich pass through the slots in the lower edge of the hinged portion ofthe receiving chute.

2. In feeding meansfor rotary grinding machines, in combination, areceiving chute, the lower portion ofwhich is hinged, the hinged portionbeing formed along its lower edge with a series of slots, a deliverychute, and a corrugated roller for transferring the material from thereceiving chute to the delivery chute, said roller being provided withpins projecting beyond its periphery.

3. In feeding means for rotary grinding machines, in combination, areceiving chute, the lower portion of which is hinged, the hingedportion being formed along its lower edge with a series of slots, adelivery chute, said delivery chute having its lower portion hinged, anadjustable. stop for said hinged portion and a weighted hinged cover forsaid hinged portion.

4. In feeding means for rotary grinding machines, in combination, areceiving chute, the lower portion of which is hinged, the hingedportion being formed along its lower edge with a series of slots, adelivery chute, a corrugated roller for transferring the material fromthe receiving chute to the delivery chute, said roller being providedwith pins projecting beyond its periphery, and stops for said hingedportion fixed to the bottom of the receiving chute.

5. In feeding means for rotary grinding machines, in combination, areceiving chute, the lower portion of which is hinged, said hingedportion having slots along its lower edge, a delivery chute, saiddelivery chute having its lower portlon hinged, a corrugated roller fortransferring the material from the receiving chute to the deliverychute, said roller having pins projecting beyond its periphery whichpass through the slot-s in the hinged lower portion of the receivingchute, a stop for said hinged lower portion of the receiving chute, anadjustable stop for the hinged lower portion of the delivery chute, anda weighted hinged cover for said hinged lower portion of the deliverychute.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES EDWARD THOMAS.

Witnesses:

N. SANFORD COTTRILL, CHAS. OVENDALE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington ID. 0.

